Mum lends daughter her womb

A woman aged 43 has given birth to her own grandchildren after "lending out" her womb to her daughter and son-in-law.

The test-tube twins, a boy and a girl, were born this week by caesarean section in Gujarat, India, where their grandmother lives.

The babies' parents, who live in Ilford, Essex, had searched in vain for a surrogate mother for four years, said Dr Nayna Patel, the fertility doctor who carried out the IVF procedure.

She said she saw no problems in using a close relative as a surrogate mother. "I think it is perfectly ethical," she said. "The grandmother was very motivated and very happy."

The biological mother suffers from Rokitansky syndrome. Although she has healthy ovaries, her womb has not developed properly.

Dr Patel, the medical director of the Akanksha Infertility Clinic in Anand, said: "When she was investigated in London for infertility they found that her womb was missing.

"Although she could use her own eggs, she could not find a surrogate mother in England or India."

Her mother, who has three other children, volunteered to carry the babies, Dr Patel said. "They are very, very happy. They don't feel there's anything wrong with what's happened."

The twins, who have yet to be named, are expected to fly to London with their parents in a couple of months. The father had yet to see the babies but was flying out to India soon, Dr Patel said.

Last month the grandmother spoke of her fears of a backlash against the family if their names became known.

"We were not sure about the kind of reaction we would get from society," she told an Indian newspaper. "It's a fear we are living with, but our daughter's happiness will help us over this."

The grandmother said she took a month to make up her mind. The first cycle of IVF in May failed, but a second produced five embryos. All were transferred to her womb.

The twins join a select handful of test-tube babies born to surrogate mothers recruited from their immediate family.

In 1987, a South African woman became the first woman to give birth to her grandchildren after IVF treatment.

The first British woman to go through the procedure was Edith Jones. In 1991, aged 51, she gave birth to a girl, the child of her daughter Suzanne Langston, who was born without a womb.

Two years ago, Vivien Morris became one of the oldest surrogate mothers when she gave birth to her granddaughter at the age of 54. As long as women's wombs are still healthy, they are able to carry babies long after the menopause.

Surrogacy is legal in Britain as long as it is unpaid - although surrogate mothers can claim "reasonable" expenses, sometimes up to £10,000 ($23,000). The organisation Cots has helped around 470 couples with surrogacy since 1984.

A spokesman said: "I don't think there's anything wrong with someone close to you being the surrogate mother. It's quite a good thing. As long as the child is told it's not a problem."

By law the woman carrying a child is its mother and, if she is married, her husband is the father.

However, once the baby is born, the intended father and surrogate mother can sign a parental responsibility agreement, which gives them equal rights over the child.

After six weeks, the intended parents can apply for a parental order, which gives them permanent rights over the child.

Last year a study at City University, London, found that most surrogate mothers did not suffer major emotional problems after handing over babies.

For many, the experience was "positive" because it gave them a chance to help an infertile couple, researchers led by Prof Susan Golombok reported.

However, Josephine Quintavalle, the founder of the group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said the case had some "very uncomfortable aspects".

"The major issue is the confusion about social roles and that a grandmother and mother have got very distinct roles," she said.

"We should always be looking at what is the ideal situation, and what is not ideal is for a grandmother to give birth to her grandchildren."

Children would be confused when they grew up and were told or found out about how they were born, she added.

She said she had sympathy for the "devastating situation" the woman had found herself in after finding out she could not have children.

"Sometimes the best way forward is to accept infertility, as harsh as that may sound. There are children in their millions around the world who want to be loved and adopted."